


Simultaneously

by Budapest_All_Over_again



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-05
Updated: 2012-11-05
Packaged: 2017-11-18 01:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/555189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Budapest_All_Over_again/pseuds/Budapest_All_Over_again
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'James H. Potter had the world wrapped around his little finger. Even Slytherins walked out of his path as he strutted around the school, usually with an entourage of five or six "fans". He hexed people who got in his way. He'd pushed her out of the boats on the way to Hogwarts before first year had even begun. He pranked her constantly, then tried to ask her out, and when rejected, went off to sulk and plan 'revenge'. He was arrogant, cocky, and full of himself. And she shouldn't like him. And she doesn't. But she does.' JPLE, sixth year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simultaneously

Whoever had told her that N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration wasn't too hard was going to find themselves hanging from a tree by their ankle pretty soon, if Lily's frustration was anything to go by. She'd spent the last hour outside underneath the bare willow tree usually occupied by the famous Marauders, attempting to transfigure a nearby rock into a mouse. The closest she'd gotten so far was two tiny legs sticking out from underneath the rock and the occasional squeak.

This really shouldn't have frustrated her very much.

But it did. Oh, it did. She'd spent a whole sodding hour in the sodding cold working on something that should've been easy for her, seeing as she usually conquered new concepts in her classes faster than anyone else by a mile. But no. Not only did she still not get it, someone else had understood it before her. And the worst part wasn't that, no – got worse than that.

James Potter got there before her.

James. Sodding. Potter.

Lily flicked her wand a lot more aggressively than she should have, and it left her hand, flying a few metres away from her. She let out an exasperated shriek, frightening a trio of passing fourth-years on their way to the warm castle, and slumped against the tree in a humph. The force of her body weight shook the tree, causing a fresh load of snow to dump onto her head. She groaned, and wiped it away from her already numb face.

"Evans!"

No. This is not happening.

"Hey, Evans!"

Nuh-uh.

"Lily!"

If you answer him, he'll never leave.

"C'mon Evans, at least give your best bud Potter the time of day, yeah?"

"What in the name of Merlin's sodding left sock do  _you_  want?" She practically seethed anger, clenching and unclenching her fists.

It wasn't that she _hated_  James Potter.

It was, well, that she hated James Potter.

James H. Potter had the world wrapped around his little finger. Even Slytherins walked out of his path as he strutted around the school, usually with an entourage of five or six "fans". He hexed people who got in his way. He'd pushed her out of the boats on the way to Hogwarts before first year had even begun. He pranked her constantly, then tried to ask her out, and when rejected, went off to sulk and plan 'revenge'.

He was arrogant, cocky, and full of himself.

And she shouldn't like him.

And she doesn't.

But she does.

Lily hadn't told anyone. Of course not. Could you imagine the fuss Marlene and Alice would make about it? And they'd tell Sirius, who'd tell James, who'd look at Lily with that smug grin and she'd simultaneously want to slap him and snog him within an inch of his life.

A feeling she was well acquainted with when it came to one messy-haired, hazel-eyed guy.

"Evans, is this your wand? I nearly stood on it, it was covered by some snow." He held it out to her, smiling.

It wasn't as though she  _liked_  the arrogant part of him. That was Potter. She liked  _James_. The guy who held her as she cried over a letter from Petunia, saying she didn't want Lily home for Christmas (or for any holiday, in fact). She liked the guy who taught the first-year Gryffindor students that year to duel after a particularly intense meeting with some fourth-year Slytherins.

Too bad that guy wasn't around as much as Potter, the one who drank and made out with girls at the infamous Gryffindor common room parties, and then had the sheer audacity to ask Lily out ten, fifteen, twenty minutes later.

She took the stick from his outstretched arm, and shot him a brief yet sarcastic smile. "Thanks, Potter, for nearly destroying my weapon of choice."

"You're welcome, my fair lady," he said in a regal accent, bending at the waist in a bow, missing the sarcasm entirely (or perhaps ignoring it).

As  _enjoyable_ as being in James' presence was, she needed to get this spell right. Or maybe she just wanted to be rid of Potter before she did something irrational (as she always did in his presence, whether or not she liked to admit it). Hoping to get him to move on, Lily feigned an air of boredom, scowling at the boy in front of her. "So are you just going to stand there and really annoy me, or are you moving on to bigger and better things?"

He sniffed dramatically. "How could you break my heart so easily, Evans. Anyway, I wouldn't call it annoying. I'd say it was romantic and well-intended."

Lily couldn't help but snort at that. "You? Romantic? Which of the girls you shagged told you that?"

James raised an eyebrow, an amused smile forming on his face. "Touché, Evans, touché."

First-year Lily would've rolled her eyes and sent him a hex to turn his ears bright green. Sixth-year Lily was more mature than that.

She pointed her wand at the branches above his head, which subsequently dumped a hell of a lot of snow on him. He let out a yell from  _somewhere_ beneath all the snow, and she couldn't stop herself from laughing.

Slowly, he dug himself out, Lily nearly in hysterics by the time he emerged from the ground.

"That was  _not_  funny," he seethed, running his hand through his hair repeatedly, shaking the snow out.

" _Au contraire_ , it was hilarious. And made sitting here for the last hour working on this stupid spell worthwhile. Cheers, Potter." Wait. What? WHAT. Why did she say that? Ugh. Just ignore it. Act normally and he'll leave it alone.

Except he was James sodding Potter and he never left things  _alone_.

"What spell? I could help, y'know."

She regarded him with what could only be described as a stony expression. "You probably could. Doesn't mean I want your help, though." All laughter in her voice was gone.

James held his hands up in a 'don't shoot!' gesture. "Merlin, Evans, take a chill pill. I'm offering some help. This spell's probably Transfiguration, yeah? 'Cause you've already perfected the Charms syllabus."

"I've already said, Potter. I don't want, or need, your help."

He shot her his famous lopsided grin, the one that made every other girl faint. Lily? She just scowled at him. "Come on, Evans. It's just a spell."

She said nothing.

His expression grew angry. "Or maybe it's a case of pride, eh? Miss Perfect Prefect Evans would never _dare_ have help from a Marauder."

"I have nothing against the Marauders, thank you very much." Her cheeks had been slightly flushed before in embarrassment, but now they were scarlet as she glared at the messy-haired boy in front of her.

He returned the glare. "Oh, I noticed that. You and Lupin are getting awfully cosy, now, aren't you?"

Her jaw dropped. How could he even suggest such a thing? She and Remus were friends. "We have done no such thing. Remus has actually been a decent friend to me since day one here in Hogwarts while you and Black strut around the castle, breaking girls' hearts and throwing punches. I have nothing against the Marauders, Potter, I have something against  _you._ "

He clenched his jaw, making his hands into fists.  _Oh, so_ now _he has the grace to look offended,_ she thought.

He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand. "No, Potter, you listen to me. You have  _no_ right to question anything I do, ever, okay? Ever. Because you have done nothing but tease me, put me down, hex me, and continually embarrass me by asking me out since we arrived here at Hogwarts. And believe me, that starts to hurt after a while. You may be immature as hell but that's no excuse. So you leave me alone, you hear me? Leave. Me. Alone." She pulled her eyes away from him, as she struggled to keep the tears from falling.

There were more things she wanted to say (most of which were followed by a rude hand gesture, or in some cases, a declaration of her feelings for him) but she was  _this_ close to punching him in the face, something she would not like to go down on her permanent record. Instead, she shot him another glare, her forefinger pointing in a direction far, far away from her. Her face was schooled into an expression that said "don't mess with me if you value your kidneys intact".

Except this was James  _sodding_  Potter in front of her, and since when does he do what he's told?

And she shouldn't like that. She's a goody-good, despite what she tells herself. He's a rule-breaker.

But she _does_ like it. And she hates herself for it.

He looks up at her. "Look at me, Lily." James stresses her first name, and his hazel eyes meet her green.

For a moment, she thinks he's going to say something crude. Or nasty, or bitter, or any one of the emotions she'd be feeling if someone had a go at her like that.

"Godric, Lily, I had no idea."

Except this is James and he always does the unexpected.

"I'm so sorry. I- I didn't realise you felt that way."

She stopped dead in her tracks. "You're… sorry?" she asked, in a state of shock. The Powerful and Almighty James Potter, apologizing for being such an arse? Unheard of. And yet, she was hearing it.

"Yep," he confirmed, looking sheepishly down at his shoes. He looks almost… hurt? Ashamed? She wants to reach out and hug him, but stops herself. He looks like this for a reason, she reminds herself – because he's been such a toerag to her.  _And serve him right_. Not that those reasons make her want to touch him any less.

"That's new." She almost wants to hit herself for being so callous, but another part of her laughs as it is exactly what he deserves.

Her sense of right and wrong has always been a bit…  _off_ when it comes to one raven-haired teenage boy.

"I just got a bit… carried away. It won't happen again, I swear on Sirius' life." Finally, he smiles. It's a genuine smile, and she can see teeth between his windswept teeth. This is  _James,_ not Potter.

_and Merlin that smile shouldn't have that effect on her but ugh it does_

"Sirius won't be happy if he finds out you put his life on the line for something that's inevitably going to end in his doom." She tried to steel her voice. Dammit, she was trying to be upset with him here. That smile really wasn't helping.

He laughed, sitting down beside her on the hardened snow, careful not to slip. "Who says it's going to kill him?"

"Because it's going to kill you, you git."  _Or me, if I have to stay_ just  _friends with you_. "You and I, we don't do 'pals'. We don't do 'friendship'. Merlin's left foot, we don't even do 'people who inhabit the same castle without being at each other's necks every five minutes'." She rubbed her forearms, trying to warm herself up.

James frowned. "And why is that?"

"Maybe be-"

"It was a rhetorical question. Since when do we have to be enemies like this?"

"Since you pushed me into the clutches of the Giant Squid before we'd even arrived at the castle in first year."

"You may have a point there. Nonetheless, I reckon we could be friends."

"Have you been  _listening_ to me Potter? It'll never work."

"Just… think about it, yeah?"

She sighed. That would never end out well. And then she'd be back to this… whatever it was. Sneering at him when he was in proximity to her, and then staring at the way he scribbles down Quidditch plays in the darkest corner of the common room every Monday night, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Lily'd have to give it a go.

"I think we could make this work. Just… don't be such an arse. Or I  _will_ acquaint you with my fists, as Black tends to so elegantly put it."

"I have no qualms about hitting a girl."

"Really? Because when I kicked Potter Jr. in fourth year, you never hit me back."

"That was because I was in freaking  _agony_."

"That'll teach you to mess with a girl in stilettos."

He leaned over and nudged her arm with his own playfully. "See, Evans? We can do friendly."

"I'm pretty sure we'll scare all of Gryffindor house. We haven't had a civil conversation since… ever."

He laughed, standing up. "Shall we go test that theory? And then I'll actually show you that spell you were looking at, whatever it was."

Lily stood up quickly, careful not to fall over on the slippery ice beneath her. "Sounds promising," she shot back, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her lips. And she didn't just mean frightening a few first years with some form of amity between her and the Quidditch Captain; Lily was genuinely looking forward to becoming friends with him. Which is not something you'd ever hear her admit to his face (or Alice's or Marlene's or Black's or Remus' or really anyone's face, ever).

A single "Evans?" brought her out of her daydream. "Yes, Potter?"

"… Potter Jr.? Really? Is that the best you can come up with?"

**Author's Note:**

> A/N from ff.net: A hello and happy birthday to HollyPotter28! May you have a spiffing birthday on the 7th (yes, I realise this is a few days early… shhh. Don't tell anyone.)
> 
> Anyway, this also fulfils: 1/50 Marauder Era challenges from the Favourite Era bootcamp (prompt: Warmth), Honeydukes challenge (chocolate frogs challenge!), the School Subjects challenge (Care of Magical Creatures), and a (failed) attempt at the One Hour Promptless challenge (using the setting E2H). It's an entry into the one-shot competition being run by fan-freak121, too. Jeepers that's a big list.
> 
> Set in sixth year.


End file.
